Nov. 8, 2002
Alexandra Preiss recorded 15 kills and hit .565 as the No. 24 Georgia Tech volleyball team defeated Florida State Friday night in three games, 30-26, 30-26, 30-16. With the win, the Yellow Jackets improve to 25-5, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference while the Seminoles fall to 18-9, 9-4 ACC.
“The highlight for us tonight was the overall team play,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “We established an intensity and execution level that has been tough to do for everyone else in the conference on Florida State’s home court. Our middles played really well tonight as Alex led our team with kills at crucial moments in the match and Jayme was as efficient as usual. The win tonight has given us a little breathing room but we still have a lot of work to do as we prepare for the end of our conference schedule.”
In game one, the Jackets built a 12-7 lead on four stuff blocks and kills from Sauer, Kuhn and Moster. Florida State fought back with two kills from Erica Bunch and one kill from Aisha Carr to close the gap to 15-14. A kill from Sauer, a hitting error by the Seminoles and a kill from Kele forced Florida State into a timeout at 18-14. The Seminoles came out of the timeout with a setter dump, but then three kills from Moster and a kill from Preiss forced FSU into its second timeout at 22-16. The Jackets took a 27-22 lead on a service ace from Jennifer Randall and held on to win the first game, 30-26 on a kill from Preiss. In the game, Tech outhit the Seminoles, .375 to .189 and recorded four blocks to FSU’s two.
In the second game, Tech got off to a terrible start, struggling with their service reception which led to unforced hitting errors and six Seminole kills. The Jackets called a timeout at 3-11 and then responded with three straight kills from Preiss and a ballhandling error from the Seminoles to narrow the gap to 7-11. The Jackets chipped away at their deficit with better ball control and with kills from Preiss and Gergen and several Seminoles hitting errors. Tech eventually tied the game at 24-24 on a hitting error from Aisha Carr. The Jackets then took a 27-26 lead, their first lead of the game, on a stuff block from Preiss and Kuhn. A ballhandling error on FSU’s Jennifer Anderson followed by a hit out of bounds by Kristin Frye and a punishing kill from Preiss gave Tech game two, 30-26. In the game, Preiss tallied seven kills while Moster recorded six digs.
The Jackets carried their momentum into game three, building a 13-5 lead with three kills from Sauer and a kill from Gergen off a terrific Keight Vincent dig. After a Seminole timeout, Tech continued to play well, scoring on four kills from Gergen, and three kills from Preiss, forcing a second timeout at 25-15. Two more kills from Gergen and a service ace from Randall gave Tech the third and deciding game, 30-16.
The Yellow Jackets will return to action Sunday when they face Florida A&M at 2 p.m.
